World History

The accomplishments of pioneering doctors such as John Peter Mettauer, James Marion Sims, and Nathan Bozeman are well documented. It is also no secret that these nineteenth-century gynecologists performed experimental caesarean sections, ovariotomies, and obstetric fistulae repairs primarily on poor and powerless women. Medical Bondage breaks new ground by exploring how and why physicians denied these women their full humanity yet valued them as “medical superbodies” highly suited for medical experimentation.

In Medical Bondage, Cooper Owens examines a wide range of scientific literature and less formal communications in which gynecologists created and disseminated medical fictions about their patients, such as their belief that black enslaved women could withstand pain better than white “ladies.” Even as they were advancing medicine, these doctors were legitimizing, for decades to come, groundless theories related to whiteness and blackness, men and women, and the inferiority of other races or nationalities.

Medical Bondage moves between southern plantations and northern urban centers to reveal how nineteenth-century American ideas about race, health, and status influenced doctor-patient relationships in sites of healing like slave cabins, medical colleges, and hospitals. It also retells the story of black enslaved women and of Irish immigrant women from the perspective of these exploited groups and thus restores for us a picture of their lives.

Read more

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), or Vatican II, is arguably the most significant event in the life of the Catholic Church since the Reformation. The Council initiated, intentionally or not, profound changes not simply within Catholic theology, but in the religious, social, and moral lives of the world’s billion Catholics. It also reconfigured, intellectually and practically, the Church’s engagements with those outside of it – most obviously with regard to other religions.

The sixteen documents formally issued by Vatican II constitute some of the most influential writings of the whole twentieth century. Debates over their correct interpretation and authority are constant, but they remain an indispensable point-of-reference for all areas of Catholic life, from liturgy and sacraments, to the Church’s vast network of charitable and educational endeavours the world over.

In this Very Short Introduction, Shaun Blanchard and Stephen Bullivant present the backstory to this event. Vatican II is explored in light of the wider history of the Catholic Church and placed in the tumultuous context of the 1960s. It distils the research on Vatican II, employing the first-hand accounts of participants and observers, and the official proceedings of the Council to paint a rich picture of one of the most important events of the last century.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Read more

Provide students with a strong understanding of religion with high quality, engaging and content-rich resources building a firm foundation for the new GCSE 9-1 Religious Studies.

Deliver a rich, coherent RE course at KS3 and equip pupils with a deep understanding of religion with ready-made, flexible and high quality KS3 lessons.

‘Knowing Religion’ is written by an author team of experienced RE teachers and led by series editor Robert Orme of West London Free School.

• Discover the history and beliefs of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as well as these religions in the modern world
• Start teaching straight away with Teacher Guide resources available on Collins Connect, including teaching ideas and support along with answers to questions in the student books
• Give pupils the grounding they need to excel at GCSE RS
• Ignite an interest in religion through a compelling narrative, fascinating facts and extraordinary people
• Aid pupil memory with a ‘knowledge organiser’ at the end of each unit covering key vocabulary, people, places, and dates
• Spark discussion and assess understanding with questions for each lesson including longer-form discursive questions to provide extended writing and essay practice
• 16 lessons on each religion to offer flexibility and map onto the school timetable with ease
• The ‘Knowing Religion’ series also includes resources on Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Biblical Literacy

Read more